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Manitoba i /ˌmænɪˈtoʊbə/ is a Canadian prairie province with an area of 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi). The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other major industries are transportation, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy, and tourism.

According to the 2006 Census, the largest ethnic group in Manitoba is English Canadian (259,595), but there is a significant Franco-Manitoban minority (148,370) and a growing aboriginal population (192,865, including the Métis). Other ethnic groups include Germans (216,755 - the second-largest group), Scots (209,170), and the Irish (155,915). Manitoba is one of the most important centres of Ukrainian culture outside Ukraine (there are 167,175 Ukrainian-Manitobans), and Gimli, Manitoba is home to the largest Icelandic community outside of Iceland.

Manitoba's capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is Canada's eighth-largest Census Metropolitan Area, and home to 60% of the population of the province. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the highest court in the jurisdiction, the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Four of the province's five universities, all four of its professional sports teams, and most of its cultural activities (including Festival du Voyageur and Folklorama) are located in Winnipeg. The city has train and bus stations and a busy international airport; a Canadian Forces base operates from the airport and is the regional headquarters of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

The name Manitoba (meaning "strait of the spirit" or "lake of the prairies") is believed to be derived from the Cree, Ojibwe or Assiniboine language. Fur traders first arrived during the late 17th century. Manitoba became a province of Canada in 1870 after the Red River Rebellion. A general strike took place in Winnipeg in 1919, and the province was hit hard by the Great Depression. This led to the creation of what would become the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, one of the province's major political parties.

Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories to the north, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. It adjoins Hudson Bay to the northeast, and is the only prairie province with a coastline.

The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and contains over 110,000 lakes, covering approximately 15.6% or 101,593 square kilometres (39,225 sq mi) of its surface area. Manitoba's major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world and the largest located entirely within southern Canada. Some traditional Native lands and boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg are a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Major watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill Rivers. Most of Manitoba's inhabited south lies in the prehistoric bed of Glacial Lake Agassiz. This region, particularly the Red River Valley, is flat and fertile; there are hilly and rocky areas throughout the province left behind by receding glaciers.

Baldy Mountain is the highest point in the province at 832 metres (2,730 ft) above sea level, and the Hudson Bay coast is the lowest at sea level. Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills, Sandilands Provincial Forest, and the Canadian Shield are also upland regions. Much of the province's sparsely inhabited north and east lie on the irregular granite Canadian Shield, including Whiteshell, Atikaki, and Nopiming Provincial Parks.

Extensive agriculture is found only in the southern half of the province, although there is grain farming in the Carrot Valley Region (near The Pas). The most common agricultural activity is cattle farming (34.6%), followed by assorted grains (19.0%) and oilseed (7.9%). Around 12% of Canadian farmland is located in Manitoba.

Manitoba has an extreme continental climate; temperatures and precipitation generally decrease from south to north, and precipitation decreases from east to west. Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water, and because of the generally flat landscape, it is exposed to cold Arctic high-pressure air masses from the northwest during January and February. In the summer, air masses often come out of the Southern United States, as warm humid air is drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico.

Southern parts of the province, located just north of Tornado Alley, experience tornadoes each year, with 15 confirmed touchdowns in 2006. In 2007, on June 22 and June 23, numerous tornadoes touched down, the largest of which was an F5 Tornado that devastated parts of Elie (the strongest officially recorded tornado in Canada). Temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) numerous times each summer, and the combination of heat and humidity can bring the humidex value to the mid-40s. Carman, Manitoba holds the record for the highest humidex in Canada, with 53.0.

According to Environment Canada, Manitoba ranked first for clearest skies year round, and ranked second for clearest skies in the summer and for sunniest province in the winter and spring. Portage la Prairie has the most sunny days in summer in Canada; Winnipeg has the second-clearest skies year-round and is the second-sunniest city in Canada in the spring and winter. Southern Manitoba has a long frost-free season of between 125 and 135 days in the Red River Valley, decreasing to the northeast.

The northern sections of the province (including the city of Thompson) fall in the subarctic climate zone (Köppen climate classification Dfc). This region features long and extremely cold winters and brief, warm summers with little precipitation. Overnight temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) occur on several days each winter.

Southern Manitoba (including the city of Winnipeg), falls into the humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfb). This area is cold and windy in the winter and frequently experiences blizzards because of the openness of the landscape, but summers are hot, and this region is the most humid area in the Prairie Provinces with moderate precipitation.

Southwestern Manitoba, though under the same climate classification as the rest of Southern Manitoba, is closer to the semi-arid interior of Palliser's Triangle. The area is drier and more prone to droughts than other parts of southern Manitoba. This area is cold and windy in the winter and frequently experiences blizzards because of the openness of the landscape. Summers are generally warm to hot, with low to moderate humidity.

The eastern, southeastern, and northern reaches of the province range through boreal coniferous forests, muskeg, Canadian Shield and a small section of tundra bordering Hudson Bay. Forests make up about 263,000 square kilometres (102,000 sq mi), or 48 percent, of the province's land area. The forests consist of pines (mostly Jack Pine, some Red Pine), spruces (white, black), larch, poplars (Trembling Aspen, balsam poplar), birch (white, swamp) and small pockets of Eastern White Cedar. The tallgrass prairie dominates the southern parts of the province, and is notable for its endangered Western Prairie Fringed Orchid.

Manitoba is home to diverse species of animals. The province is especially noted for its polar bear population; Churchill is commonly referred to as the "Polar Bear Capital". Other large animals, such as moose, deer, and wolves, are common throughout the province, especially in the provincial and national parks. There is a large population of garter snakes near Narcisse; the dens there are home to the largest concentration of snakes in the world. Manitoba has over 145 species of birds, including the Great Grey Owl, the province's official bird, and the endangered peregrine falcon. Manitoba's lakes host 18 species of game fish, particularly species of trout, pike, and goldeye, as well as many smaller fish.

The geographical area of modern-day Manitoba was inhabited by the First Nations people shortly after the last ice age glaciers retreated in the southwest approximately 10,000 years ago; the first exposed land was the Turtle Mountain area. The Ojibwe, Cree, Dene, Sioux, Mandan, and Assiniboine peoples founded settlements, and other tribes entered the area to trade. In Northern Manitoba, quartz was mined to make arrowheads. The first farming in Manitoba was along the Red River, where corn and other seed crops were planted before contact with Europeans. The name "Manitoba" is likely derived from the languages of the Cree or Ojibwe, and means "strait of the Manitou (spirit)". It may also be from the Assiniboine for "Lake of the Prairie".

In 1611, Henry Hudson was one of the first Europeans to sail into what is now known as Hudson Bay, where he was abandoned by his crew. The first European to reach present-day central and southern Manitoba was Sir Thomas Button, who travelled upstream along the Nelson River to Lake Winnipeg in 1612 in an unsuccessful attempt to find and rescue Hudson. The Nonsuch, a British ship, sailed into Hudson Bay in 1668–1669, becoming the first trading vessel to reach the area; that voyage led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company, which was given absolute control of the entire Hudson Bay watershed by the British government. This watershed was named Rupert's Land, after Prince Rupert, who helped to subsidize the Hudson's Bay Company. York Factory was founded in 1684 after the original fort of the Hudson's Bay Company, Fort Nelson (built in 1682), was destroyed by rival French traders.

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, visited the Red River Valley in the 1730s to help open the area for French exploration and trade. As French explorers entered the area, a Montreal-based company, the North West Company, began trading with the Métis. Both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company built fur-trading forts; the two companies competed in southern Manitoba, occasionally resulting in violence, until they amalgamated in 1821 (the Hudson's Bay Company Archives in Winnipeg preserve the history of this era).

Great Britain secured the territory in 1763 as a result of their victory over France in the Seven Years War (also known as the French and Indian War; 1754–1763). The founding of the first agricultural community and settlements in 1812 by Lord Selkirk, north of the area which is now downtown Winnipeg, resulted in conflict between British colonists and the Métis. Twenty colonists, including the governor, and one Métis were killed in the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816.

Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories; a lack of attention to Métis concerns caused Métis leader Louis Riel to establish a local provisional government as part of the Red River Rebellion. In response, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald introduced the Manitoba Act in the Canadian House of Commons, the bill was given Royal Assent and Manitoba was brought into Canada as a province in 1870. Louis Riel was pursued by British army officer Garnet Wolseley because of the rebellion, and Riel fled into exile. The Métis were blocked by the Canadian government in their attempts to obtain land promised to them as part of Manitoba's entry into confederation. Facing racism from the new flood of white settlers from Ontario, large numbers of Métis moved to what would become Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Numbered Treaties were signed in the late 19th century with the chiefs of various First Nations that lived in the area. These treaties made specific promises of land for every family. As a result, a reserve system was established under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. The prescribed amount of land promised to the native peoples was not always given; this led to efforts by aboriginal groups to assert rights to the land through aboriginal land claims, many of which are still ongoing.

The original province of Manitoba was a square 1/18 of its current size, and was known as the "postage stamp province". Its borders were expanded in 1881, but Ontario claimed a large portion of the land; the disputed portion was awarded to Ontario in 1889. Manitoba grew progressively, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories until it attained its current size by reaching 60°N in 1912.

The Manitoba Schools Question showed the deep divergence of cultural values in the territory. The Catholic Franco-Manitobains had been guaranteed a state-supported separate school system in the original constitution of Manitoba, but a grassroots political movement among English Protestants from 1888 to 1890 demanded the end of French schools. In 1890, the Manitoba legislature passed a law removing funding for French Catholic schools. The French Catholic minority asked the federal government for support; however, the Orange Order and other anti-Catholic forces mobilized nationwide to oppose them.

The federal Conservatives proposed remedial legislation to override Manitoba, but they were blocked by the Liberals, led by Wilfrid Laurier, who opposed the remedial legislation because of his belief in provincial rights. Once elected Prime Minister in 1896, Laurier implemented a compromise stating that Catholics in Manitoba could have their own religious instruction for 30 minutes at the end of the day if there were enough students to warrant it, implemented on a school-by-school basis.

By 1911, Winnipeg was the third-largest city in Canada, and remained so until overtaken by Vancouver in the 1920s. A boomtown, it grew quickly around the turn of the century, with outside investors and immigrants contributing to its success. The drop in growth in the second half of the decade was a result of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, which reduced reliance on transcontinental railways for trade, as well as a decrease in immigration due to the outbreak of World War I. Over 18,000 Manitoba residents enlisted in the first year of the war; by the end of the war, fourteen Manitobans had received the Victoria Cross.

After World War I ended, severe discontent among farmers (over wheat prices) and union members (over wage rates) resulted in an upsurge of radicalism, coupled with a polarization over the rise of Bolshevism in Russia. The most dramatic result was the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. It began May 15 and collapsed on June 25, 1919, as the workers gradually returned to their jobs, and the Central Strike Committee decided to end the movement.

Government efforts to violently crush the strike, including a Royal Northwest Mounted Police charge into a crowd of protesters that resulted in multiple casualties and one death, had led to the arrest of the movement's leaders. In the aftermath, eight leaders went on trial, and most were convicted on charges of seditious conspiracy, illegal combinations, and seditious libel; four were aliens who were deported under the Canadian Immigration Act.

The Great Depression (1929–c.1939) hit especially hard in Western Canada, including Manitoba. The collapse of the world market combined with a steep drop in agricultural production due to drought led to economic diversification, moving away from a reliance on wheat production. The Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, forerunner to the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), was founded in 1932.

Canada entered World War II in 1939. Winnipeg was one of the major commands for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train fighter pilots, and there were air training schools throughout Manitoba. Several Manitoba-based regiments were deployed overseas, including Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. In an effort to raise money for the war effort, the Victory Loan campaign organised "If Day" in 1942. The event featured a simulated Nazi invasion and occupation of Manitoba, and eventually raised over C$65 million.

Winnipeg was inundated during the 1950 Red River Flood and had to be partially evacuated. In that year, the Red River reached its highest level since 1861 and flooded most of the Red River Valley. The damage caused by the flood led then-Premier Duff Roblin to advocate for the construction of the Red River Floodway; it was completed in 1968 after six years of excavation. Permanent dikes were erected in eight towns south of Winnipeg, and clay dikes and diversion dams were built in the Winnipeg area. In 1997, the "Flood of the Century" caused over C$400 million in damages in Manitoba, but the floodway prevented Winnipeg from flooding.

In 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to pass the Meech Lake Accord, a series of constitutional amendments to persuade Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution. Unanimous support in the legislature was needed to bypass public consultation. Manitoba politician Elijah Harper, a Cree, opposed because he did not believe First Nations had been adequately involved in the Accord's process, and thus the Accord failed.

Manitoba has a population of 1,213,815, more than half of which is in the Winnipeg Capital Region; Winnipeg is Canada's eighth-largest Census Metropolitan Area, with a population of 694,668 (2006 Census). Although initial colonization of the province revolved mostly around homesteading, the last century has seen a shift towards urbanization; Manitoba is the only Canadian province with over fifty-five percent of its population located in a single city.

Population of Manitoba since 1871

According to the 2006 Canadian census, the largest ethnic group in Manitoba is English (22.9%), followed by German (19.1%), Scottish (18.5%), Ukrainian (14.7%), Irish (13.4%), North American Indian (10.6%), Polish (7.3%), Métis (6.4%), French (5.6%), Dutch (4.9%), and Russian (4.0%). Almost one-fifth of respondents also identified their ethnicity as "Canadian". There is a significant indigenous community: aboriginals (including Métis) are Manitoba's fastest-growing ethnic group, representing 13.6% of Manitoba's population as of 2001 (some reserves refused to allow census-takers to enumerate their populations).

Most Manitobans belong to a Christian denomination: on the 2001 census, 758,760 Manitobans (68.7%) reported being Christian, followed by 13,040 (1.2%) Jewish, 5,745 (0.5%) Buddhist, 5,485 (0.5%) Sikh, 5,095 (0.5%) Muslim, 3,840 (0.3%) Hindu, 3,415 (0.3%) Aboriginal spirituality and 995 (0.1%) pagan. 201,825 Manitobans (18.3%) reported no religious affiliation. The largest Christian denominations by number of adherents were the Roman Catholic Church with 292,970 (27%); the United Church of Canada with 176,820 (16%); and the Anglican Church of Canada with 85,890 (8%).

Manitoba has a moderately strong economy based largely on natural resources. Its Gross Domestic Product was C$50.834 billion in 2008. The province's economy grew 2.4% in 2008, the third consecutive year of growth. The average individual income in Manitoba in 2006 was C$25,100 (compared to a national average of C$26,500), ranking fifth-highest among the provinces. As of October 2009, Manitoba's unemployment rate was 5.8%.

Manitoba's economy relies heavily on agriculture, tourism, energy, oil, mining, and forestry. Agriculture is vital and is found mostly in the southern half of the province, although grain farming occurs as far north as The Pas. Around 12% of Canadian farmland is in Manitoba. The most common type of farm found in rural areas is cattle farming (34.6%), followed by assorted grains (19.0%) and oilseed (7.9%).

Manitoba is the nation's largest producer of sunflower seed and dry beans, and one of the leading sources of potatoes. Portage la Prairie is a major potato processing center, and is home to the McCain Foods and Simplot plants, which provide French fries for McDonald's, Wendy's, and other commercial chains. Can-Oat Milling, one of the largest oat mills in the world, also has a plant in the municipality.

Manitoba's largest employers are government and government-funded institutions, including crown corporations and services like hospitals and universities. Major private-sector employers are The Great-West Life Assurance Company, Cargill Ltd., and James Richardson and Sons Ltd. Manitoba also has large manufacturing and tourism sectors. Churchill's Arctic wildlife is a major tourist attraction; the town is a world capital for polar bear and beluga whale watchers. Manitoba is the only province with an Arctic deep-water seaport, which links to the shortest shipping route between North America, Europe and Asia.

Manitoba's early economy depended on mobility and living off the land. Aboriginal Nations (Cree, Ojibwa, Dene, Sioux and Assiniboine) followed herds of bison and congregated to trade among themselves at key meeting places throughout the province. After the arrival of the first European traders in the 17th century, the economy centred on the trade of beaver pelts and other furs. Diversification of the economy came when Lord Selkirk brought the first agricultural settlers in 1811, though the triumph of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) over its competitors ensured the primacy of the fur trade over widespread agricultural colonization.

HBC control of Rupert's Land ended in 1868; when Manitoba became a province in 1870, all land became the property of the federal government, with homesteads granted to settlers for farming. Transcontinental railways were constructed to simplify trade. Manitoba's economy depended mainly on farming, which persisted until drought and the Great Depression led to further diversification.

Transportation and warehousing contribute approximately C$2.2 billion to Manitoba's GDP. Total employment in the industry is estimated at 34,500, or around 5% of Manitoba's population. Trucks haul 95% of land freight in Manitoba, and trucking companies account for 80% of Manitoba's merchandise trade to the United States. Five of Canada's twenty-five largest employers in for-hire trucking are headquartered in Manitoba. C$1.18 billion of Manitoba's GDP comes directly or indirectly from trucking.

Greyhound Canada, Grey Goose Bus Lines and Jefferson Lines offer domestic and international bus service from the Winnipeg Bus Terminal. The terminal was relocated from downtown Winnipeg to the airport in 2009, and is a Greyhound hub. Municipalities also operate localized transit bus systems.

Manitoba has two Class I railways: Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Winnipeg is centrally located on the main lines of both carriers, and both maintain large inter-modal terminals in the city. CN and CPR operate a combined 2,439 kilometres (1,516 mi) of track in Manitoba. Via Rail offers transcontinental and Northern Manitoba passenger service from Winnipeg's Union Station. Numerous small regional and short-line railways also run trains within Manitoba: the Hudson Bay Railway, the Southern Manitoba Railway, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Manitoba, Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway, and Central Manitoba Railway. Together, these smaller lines operate approximately 1,775 kilometres (1,103 mi) of track in the province.

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Manitoba's largest airport, is one of only a few 24-hour unrestricted airports in Canada and is part of the National Airports System. It has a range of passenger and cargo services, processing over 3.5 million passengers in 2007; the current terminal was designed to handle a maximum capacity of 600,000. The airport is undergoing major redevelopment, with the construction of a new terminal, parkade, and luxury hotel. The airport handles approximately 195,000 tonnes (430,000,000 lb) of cargo annually, making it the third largest cargo airport in the country.

Eleven regional passenger airlines and nine smaller and charter carriers operate out of the airport, as well as eleven air cargo carriers and seven freight forwarders. Winnipeg is a major sorting facility for both FedEx and Purolator, and receives daily trans-border service from UPS. Air Canada Cargo and Cargojet Airways use the airport as a major hub for national traffic.

The Port of Churchill, owned by OmniTRAX, is nautically closer to ports in Northern Europe and Russia than any other port in Canada. The port is the only Arctic deep-water port in Canada and a part of the closest shipping route between North America and Asia. It has four deep-sea berths for the loading and unloading of grain, general cargo and tanker vessels. The port is served by the Hudson Bay Railway (also owned by OmniTRAX). Grain represented 90% of the port's traffic in the 2004 shipping season. In that year, over 600,000 tonnes (1.3×109 lb) of agricultural products were shipped through the port.

After the control of Rupert's Land was passed from Great Britain to the Government of Canada in 1869, Manitoba attained full-fledged rights and responsibilities of self-government as the first Canadian province carved out of the Northwest Territories. The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba was established on July 14, 1870. Political parties first emerged between 1878 and 1883, with a two-party system (Liberals and Conservatives). The United Farmers of Manitoba appeared in 1922, and later merged with the Liberals in 1932. Other parties, including the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), appeared during the Great Depression; in the 1950s, Manitoban politics became a three-party system, and the Liberals gradually declined in power. The CCF became the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), which came to power in 1969. Since then, the Conservatives and the NDP have been the dominant parties.

Like all Canadian provinces, Manitoba is governed by a unicameral legislative assembly. The executive branch is formed by the governing party; the party leader is the premier of Manitoba, the head of the executive branch. The head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, who is appointed by the Governor General of Canada on advice of the Prime Minister. The head of state is primarily a ceremonial role, although the Lieutenant Governor has the official responsibility of ensuring that Manitoba has a duly constituted government.

The Legislative Assembly consists of the fifty-seven Members elected to represent the people of Manitoba. The premier of Manitoba is Greg Selinger of the NDP, who replaced Gary Doer to lead the NDP majority government of thirty-six seats. The Conservative Party holds nineteen seats, and the Liberal Party has two seats but does not have official party status in the Manitoba Legislature. The last provincial general election was held Tuesday, May 22, 2007. The province is represented in federal politics by fourteen Members of Parliament and six Senators.

Manitoba's judiciary consists of the Court of Appeal, the Court of Queen's Bench, and the Provincial Court. The Provincial Court is primarily for criminal law; 95% of criminal cases in Manitoba are heard here. The Court of Queen's Bench is the highest trial court in the province. It has four jurisdictions: family law (child and family services cases), civil law, criminal law (for indictable offences), and appeals. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from both benches; its decisions can only be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

English and French are the official languages of the legislature and courts of Manitoba, according to §23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870 (part of the Constitution of Canada). In April 1890, the Manitoba legislature attempted to abolish the official status of French, and ceased to publish bilingual legislation. However, in 1985 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Reference re Manitoba Language Rights that §23 still applied, and that legislation published only in English was invalid (unilingual legislation was declared valid for a temporary period to allow time for translation).

Although French is an official language for the purposes of the legislature, legislation, and the courts, the Manitoba Act does not require it to be an official language for the purpose of the executive branch (except when performing legislative or judicial functions). Hence, Manitoba's government is not completely bilingual. The Manitoba French Language Services Policy of 1999 is intended to provide a comparable level of provincial government services in both official languages. According to the 2006 Census, 89.8% of Manitoba's population speak only English, 0.2% speak only French, 9.1% speak both, and 0.9% speak neither.

The first school in Manitoba was founded in 1818 by Roman Catholic missionaries in present-day Winnipeg; the first Protestant school was established in 1820. A provincial board of education was established in 1871; it was responsible for public schools and curriculum, and represented both Catholics and Protestants. The Manitoba Schools Question led to funding for French Catholic schools largely being withdrawn in favour of the English Protestant majority. Legislation making education compulsory for children between seven and fourteen was first enacted in 1916, and the leaving age was raised to sixteen in 1962.

Public schools in Manitoba fall under the regulation of one of thirty-seven school divisions within the provincial education system (except for the Manitoba Band Operated Schools, which are administered by the federal government). Public schools follow a provincially mandated curriculum in either French or English. There are sixty-five funded independent schools in Manitoba, including three boarding schools.[100] These schools must follow the Manitoban curriculum and meet other provincial requirements. There are forty-four non-funded independent schools, which are not required to meet those standards.[101]

There are five universities in Manitoba, regulated the Ministry of Advanced Education and Literacy.[102] Four of these universities are in Winnipeg: the University of Manitoba, the largest and most comprehensive; Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, the province's only French-language university; Canadian Mennonite University, a religion-based institution; and the University of Winnipeg, a smaller campus located downtown. The Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, established in 1818 and now affiliated with the University of Manitoba, is the oldest university in Western Canada. Brandon University, formed in 1899 and located in Brandon, is the province's newest university and the only one not in Winnipeg.[103]

Manitoba has thirty-eight public libraries; of these, twelve have French-language collections and eight have significant collections in other languages.[104] Twenty-one of these are part of the Winnipeg Public Library system. The first lending library in Manitoba was founded in 1848.[105]

Manitoba has four professional sports teams: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian Football League), the Manitoba Moose (American Hockey League), the Winnipeg Goldeyes (Northern League), and the Winnipeg Alliance (Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League). At one time, the province had a National Hockey League team (the Winnipeg Jets), but the team moved to Phoenix, Arizona, due to financial troubles and are now the Phoenix Coyotes.[106] The Western Hockey League's Wheat Kings are based in Brandon.

The province is represented in university athletics by the University of Manitoba Bisons, the University of Winnipeg Wesmen, and the Brandon University Bobcats. All three teams compete in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (the regional division of Canadian Interuniversity Sport).[107]

Manitoba's culture has been influenced by both traditional (Aboriginal and Métis) and modern Canadian artistic values, as well as by the cultures of its immigrant populations and American neighbours. The Minister of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport is responsible for promoting and, to some extent, financing Manitoban culture.[108] Manitoba is the birthplace of the Red River Jig, a combination of aboriginal pow-wows and European reels that was popular among early settlers.[109] Manitoba's traditional music has strong roots in Métis and Aboriginal culture, in particular the old-time fiddling of the Métis.[110] Manitoba's cultural scene also incorporates classical European traditions. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB), based in Winnipeg, is Canada's oldest ballet and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America; it was granted its royal title in 1953 under Queen Elizabeth II.[111] The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) performs classical music and new compositions at the Centennial Concert Hall.[112][113]

Le Cercle Molière (founded 1925) is the oldest French-language theatre in Canada,[114] and Manitoba Theatre Centre (founded 1958) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre.[115] Manitoba Theatre for Young People was the first English-language theatre to win the Canadian Institute of the Arts for Young Audiences Award, and offers plays for children and teenagers as well as a theatre school.[116] The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), Manitoba's largest art gallery and the sixth largest in the country, hosts an art school for children; the WAG's permanent collection comprises over twenty thousand works, with a particular emphasis on Manitoban and Canadian art.[117][118]

The 1960s pop supergroup The Guess Who was the first Canadian band to have a No. 1 hit in the United States;[119] Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman later created Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO).[120] Fellow rocker Neil Young played with Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield, and again in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.[121] Soft-rock band Crash Test Dummies formed in the late 1980s in Winnipeg and were the 1992 Juno Awards Group of the Year.[122]

Several prominent Canadian films were produced in Manitoba, such as The Stone Angel, based on the Margaret Laurence book of the same title, The Saddest Music in the World, Foodland, For Angela, and My Winnipeg. Major films shot in Manitoba include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Capote,[123] both of which received Academy Award nominations.[124] Falcon Beach, an internationally broadcast television drama, was filmed at Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba.[125] Manitoba has appeared in popular American television shows, including in an episode of The Simpsons.[126]

Manitoba has a strong literary tradition. Manitoban writer Bertram Brooker won the first-ever Governor General's Award for Fiction in 1936.[127] Cartoonist Lynn Johnston, author of the comic strip For Better or For Worse, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and inducted into the Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.[128] Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel and A Jest of God were set in Manawaka, a fictional town representing Neepawa; the latter won the Governor General's Award in 1966.[129] Carol Shields won both the Governor General's Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Stone Diaries.[130] Gabrielle Roy, a Franco-Manitoban writer, won the Governor General's Award three times.[127] A quote from her work is featured on the Canadian $20 bill.[131]

Festivals take place throughout the province, with the largest centred in Winnipeg. The Festival du Voyageur is an annual ten-day event held in Winnipeg's French Quarter, and is Western Canada's largest winter festival.[132] It celebrates Canada's fur-trading past and French heritage and culture. Folklorama, a multicultural festival run by the Folk Arts Council, receives around 400,000 pavilion visits each year, of which about thirty percent are from non-Winnipeg residents.[132][133] The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is an annual alternative theatre festival, the second-largest festival of its kind in North America (after the Edmonton International Fringe Festival).[134]

Manitoban museums document different aspects of the province's heritage. The Manitoba Museum is the largest museum in Manitoba and focuses on Manitoban history from prehistory to the 1920s.[135] The full-size replica of the Nonsuch is the museum's showcase piece.[136] The Manitoba Children's Museum at The Forks presents exhibits for children.[137] There are two museums dedicated to the native flora and fauna of Manitoba: the Living Prairie Museum, a tall grass prairie preserve featuring 160 species of grasses and wildflowers, and FortWhyte Alive, a park encompassing prairie, lake, forest and wetland habitats, home to a large herd of bison.[138] The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre houses the largest collection of marine reptile fossils in Canada.[139] Other museums feature the history of aviation, marine transport, and railways in the area. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will on completion be the first Canadian national museum outside of the National Capital Region.[140]

Winnipeg has two daily newspapers: the Winnipeg Free Press, a broadsheet with the highest circulation numbers in Manitoba, and the Winnipeg Sun, a smaller tabloid-style paper. There are several ethnic weekly newspapers,[141] including the weekly French-language La Liberté, and regional and national magazines based in the city. Brandon has two newspapers: the daily Brandon Sun and the weekly Wheat City Journal.[142] Many small towns have local newspapers.[143]

There are five English-language television stations and one French-language station based in Winnipeg. The Global Television Network (owned by Canwest) is headquartered in the city.[144] Winnipeg is home to twenty-one AM and FM radio stations, two of which are French-language stations.[145] Brandon's five local radio stations are provided by Astral Media and Westman Communications Group.[145] In addition to the Brandon and Winnipeg stations, radio service is provided in rural areas and smaller towns by Golden West Broadcasting, Corus Entertainment, and local broadcasters. CBC Radio broadcasts local and national programming throughout the province.[146] Native Communications is devoted to Aboriginal programming and broadcasts to many of the isolated native communities as well as to larger cities.[147]

CFB Winnipeg is a Canadian Forces Base at the Winnipeg International Airport. The base is home to flight operations support divisions and several training schools, as well as the 1 Canadian Air Division and Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters.[148] 17 Wing of the Canadian Forces is based at CFB Winnipeg; the Wing has three squadrons and six schools.[149] It supports 113 units from Thunder Bay to the Saskatchewan/Alberta border, and from the 49th parallel north to the high Arctic. 17 Wing acts as a deployed operating base for CF-18 Hornet fighter–bombers assigned to the Canadian NORAD Region.[149]

The two 17 Wing squadrons based in the city are: the 402 ("City of Winnipeg" Squadron), which flies the Canadian designed and produced de Havilland Canada CT-142 Dash 8 navigation trainer in support of the 1 Canadian Forces Flight Training School's Air Combat Systems Officer and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator training programs (which trains all Canadian Air Combat Systems Officer);[150] and the 435 ("Chinthe" Transport and Rescue Squadron), which flies the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tanker/transport in airlift search and rescue roles, and is the only Air Force squadron equipped and trained to conduct air-to-air refueling of fighter aircraft.[149]

Canadian Forces Base Shilo (CFB Shilo) is an Operations and Training base of the Canadian Forces located 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Brandon. During the 1990s, Canadian Forces Base Shilo was designated as an Area Support Unit, acting as a local base of operations for Southwest Manitoba in times of military and civil emergency.[151] CFB Shilo is the home of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, both battalions of the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, and the Royal Canadian Artillery. The Second Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), which was originally stationed in Winnipeg (first at Fort Osborne, then in Kapyong Barracks), has operated out of CFB Shilo since 2004. CFB Shilo hosts training units such as the Western Area Training Centre Detachment Shilo and the Communications Reserve School. It serves as a base for support units of Land Force Western Area, including 731 Signals Squadron. The base currently houses 1,700 soldiers.[151]